Book Review: Dearly Beloved – Wendy Corsi Staub

Till death do us part or what about divorce? With Wendy Corsi Staub’s mystery/thriller DEARLY BELOVED, I think you should stick this one out. Like a good marriage, it’s a story grows and develops over time. Even though there’s a few bumps along the way, for the most part I think it’s a rather successful union.

The story starts off with three young women taking a trip to a remote island on Valentine’s weekend. Each arrived under different pretenses, but each are there for a specific reason. Revenge. Someone wants them to pay for their provocations. As a storm bears down on the island every moment becomes more terrifying as each woman must fight for her life.

Over all not a bad premise, but it felt a little cliché to me. That’s why I gave it four instead of five stars. Between the remote inn on an island, valentine’s weekend, incoming storm, wedding dresses, raised butcher knife glinting off the lightening… it all feels a little less thriller-ish and a little more romance-ish. At times I waited for the knight in shining armor to ride in and save the damsel in distress. But don’t worry, it doesn’t go that far.

Yet, with that said, I still say give it a chance. There are several strong points that make this a worthwhile read. And don’t worry, there’s plenty of suspense to keep you turning the pages and wanting more. The characters themselves demand that you turn the pages to know more about them. Especially when it comes to the killer. I wanted to know what drove him, why he was doing these things, what psychological forces were acting upon him… and I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

Although, I have to give fair warning about the amount of details in the book. On one hand, you have your James Patterson writers who use little detail leaving you to paint the picture. But on the other, you have a book like this that gives you plenty of details to paint with. For me, a tad heavy with them, but I tend to prefer the less is more side. You might be the opposite and if so then this book and Wendy’s others are for you.

So give it a chance, you might be surprised. If you’ve read the book let me know what you think… till death do you part?